To kick off our 'Meet Our Marketing Experts' feature in 2016, we're delighted to introduce Anna Hutton-North, strategic B2B Marketing Director and producer of the 2015 Marketing Trends Report for The Marketing Centre:
1. Who are you?
I am Anna Hutton-North. As well as 20 years' sales and marketing experience, I also have an MBA. I have been with the Marketing Centre for two years, and previous to that I have worked for large companies including KPMG, Carillion, Barclays and small companies who wanted to grow or float on one of the junior stock markets.
2. What do you specialise in?
I help organisations to formulate a clear organisational plan to deliver ambitious growth targets quickly and then work with the relevant teams across the company to ensure the organisation begins to achieve its targets. This could be through effective cross-selling, developing stronger client relationships or identifying new products or services.
3. Tell us about a "typical day" in the office
If only there was a typical day! When I am working on strategic plans it tends to be a lot more desk-based research, establishing what is happening in the market, who are the main competitors, where the big opportunities for the company lies and how the company is going to need to adapt to deliver the new targets. As we move into more operational delivery, then there is a shift towards more team-orientated work, preparing for client presentations, testing the viability of new services, or working with finance to monitor financial performance.
4. What do you like most about your job?
The variety of clients and opportunities, plus the ability to be able to spot new opportunities for companies and then work with them to make them into reality.
5. What approach do you take to help your clients?
Rolling up my sleeves and becoming part of the team – you can’t expect others to do something you are refusing to do yourself.
6. Are there any common marketing pitfalls that you see?
The most common issue I see is the lack of planning and preparation; if you are serious about growing your company then you need to work out where that growth is going to come from (ie market expansion, new products or taking competitor share). You also need to make sure the whole organisation is focusing on those actions which will deliver the most return for the company. Often people have an idea of what they should be doing, ask marketing to launch a campaign and then wonder why it isn’t delivering the results when sales and operations aren’t geared up to respond and support.
7. What exciting shifts in marketing did you witness in 2015?
I produce the annual Marketing Trends report. I survey Marketing Directors and CEOs to see what they are experiencing within their company, where they are investing their resources and the priorities they have for the coming 12 months. This year’s results showed some really interesting points:
- There is a a divergence appearing between companies on their willingness and ability to retain investments into marketing. Confidence is continuing however there is a growing group who are looking to reduce their marketing team and to cut their marketing budget. What is interesting is that it is predominantly the larger companies who are making the cuts.
- Client relationships have become a shared top priority for both the Board and Marketing Directors, showing a clear demonstration of the important role marketing can play within the business growth agenda.
8. What excites you most about 2016?
The economic climate is still uncertain and I think this will continue to have an impact on Marketing Directors. If organisations are looking to sustain or increase growth through sales then the Marketing Director needs to be able to clearly demonstrate where the opportunities lie. The focus last year on client relationships will evolve and I think the exciting opportunity in 2016 will be replicating client relationships – ie once the company has proven its ability to deliver to one client, looking at how it can increase sales/profits by quickly and effectively replicating that across a number of allied clients.
9. Are there any brands or organisations that you think are marketing particularly well?
The organisations that seem to do well at this are those who have clear ongoing investment into both marketing and creative strategies. Any of the leading technology firms provide strong examples of how to get quickly into a market and exploit the opportunities to their full advantage.
10. Are there any websites, books, or training sessions you'd recommend that have been helpful to you and why?
If you want to know what is happening in your industry, or what your competitors are planning, then I would definitely suggest taking a look at the latest Marketing Trends report and the Marketing Director’s Guide to Success. As well as giving an overview there are in-depth articles on how you can prepare your company for success in 2016.
Feel free to get in touch with Anna about the Marketing Trends Report, or any other topic. Or discover the full team of marketing experts on Our Team Page.